Associate Professor Maria Hrmova, Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics

Protein modelling provides techniques whereby the three-dimensional structure and biological function of protein molecules can be identified.

Associate Professor Maria Hrmova from the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics and the University of Adelaide researches the structures of agriculturally significant grass proteins for research into improving crop resistance to abiotic stresses such as temperature, drought, and salinity.

Results from X-ray crystallography studies of the proteins are processed using eResearch SA supercomputers. This processing allows the atomic structure of the proteins to be modelled.

Other software is used to display these models, so that they may be studied and interpreted visually. A stereo three-dimensional visualisation workstation, with specifications developed by eResearch SA, allows researchers to perceive the protein model in three-dimensional space; that is, as a natural, solid body, the shape and structures of which may be seen and interpreted intuitively by visual means.

The addition of the extra dimension of depth when it is perceived directly by stereopsis, rather than only indirectly by other clues such as occlusion or shading, greatly improves the ability to interpret structure and relationships within complex shapes.

Stereo visualisation makes it possible to precisely interpret the electron density map with respect to structural features such as backbone or ligands and how these features relate to each other. Interactions between these and other components, such as those between protein and DNA, or protein and carbohydrate, can then be modelled to help determine the precise biological role of the protein in the organism.

The eResearch SA visualisation workstation is supplied as a complete, integrated and ready-to-go system. For 3D display use, it incorporates a workstation graphics card, high-end cathod ray tube monitor, infra-red emitter with shutter glasses, and is pre-installed with Linux and appropriate open-source visualisation software.